Travel - A blissful encounter :-)

I clicked on the "Print" button with a long sigh as I was totally unsure if I would be able to pull through the the weekend.
It was a visit to a holy place and when the  printer threw-up my tickets , I wondered how , when and why the show is to happen.
 "Is this all necessary ?", I asked myself and on seeing my own reflection in  the mirror like glass of the printer a curious funny smile came over me .

This is the first time I decided to shoulder the entire itinerary for the visit to the holy town of Sri Kalahasthi.
  
I was skeptical  because i dint know the language nor the geographical conditions . In short the fear of unknown existed.
Once the ticketing done , I was googling for the best possible stay and found a Three star hotel which boasted of amenities that I felt dint fit a small town .
Though I was skeptical I did my booking and was relieved that half the work was over.

The D-Day for travel arrived and I was standing at  the Central Station where I had spent almost half of my graduation years  .
I boarded the train to Renigunta and enjoyed the train journey with ARR,YSR and more  local flavors in my music player.
When a telugu song played on , I giggled to myself at the thought of hearing more of the language in the days to come. 
I was framing sentences in telugu and laughing at my poor skills of collating words meaningfully.

I reached Renigunta and got down to take a bus to SriKalahasthi .
I felt quite intimidated by the place for it bore a typical village look  and all of a sudden my face brightened  on hearing "Oh Baby .. thought you were always mine" rocking loudly.

I was taken aback , "A JB song at such a place"  drove me to question my sanity level. It was two young boys hearing it in their mobile phones! I felt happy to see people with similar likes as mine.

I took a bus to the SriKalahasthi and the bus journey was enjoyable and showcased the splendour of the hill-town( the town that is surrounded by hills on all sides).
The temple town is surrounded by hills on all sides and the air is fresh without much pollution .The drastic change from the dark city life to the bright outdoors  raced my heart and with each breath I felt closer to mother nature.


After the bus ride I arrived at my place of stay - The MGM Grand in a tuk-tuk :-). From the outside I felt the hotel looked just like it did in the website -gaudy , modern and funny.
I was too sure the remaining pictures in the website were photo-shopped.
I confirmed my bookings and took to my  room in the third floor and to my utter shock the rooms, bathrooms and everything looked as it is in the site. 
I frowned at my own thoughts and felt happy for experiencing the true meaning of WYSIWYG!
From the huge French windows  in our room ,the temple was visible and the  scenic view is still clear in my mind's eye. It was a delight to see the temple so clearly from such height.

 I rested for a while and in the evening did a formal visit to the temple and much to my surprise, I felt a strange calm and peace with myself. 
There was serendipity all around. 

I spent the rest of the night at the hotel and  had a dinner that was  spicy , tangy and delight to my taste buds .

The next day I visited the temple and this time around I wanted to fill the curious-me which was pondering  "Is the speciality of the temple really true ?" 
I wanted to experience the truth about the temple which they say is in two lamps burning at the Presiding deity of the temple . The flames are said to be burning in queer shape due to the presence of air.
This in essence is called 'Vayu sthalam' whereby Air, though omnipresent makes the flame of the lamps to flicker.

I realized the above statement to be true and  confirmed when the over-sweating pujari stood beside the flickering lamps . 
After spending some more time looking around I returned to the hotel .
I had sumptious lunch and slept for a few hours before my return journey.I wanted to stay on for more time though I knew it was time to say bye to the holy town.
I looked for one last time from the French window in the hotel room and bid a fond adieu hoping to visit the place once again in later years.
I packed my things and the  chek-out happened in fleeting minutes. 
I was once again back in Renigunta station and stood at the same place I had got off the previous day.

My return train journey was filled with mixed emotions as I bid adieu to every single hill that the train whisked past by.
True to many beliefs the holy town provides  peace and mental strength required for the  transversality of life.
I saw a  better and more refined me as I reached home and was to hit the sack.
I dozed off in blissful gratitude that the whole trip was a success and that I was in peace with my own self :-)